Complications of a Simple Mission
by Kris4
Summary: The mission was simple... but something had gone wrong....(HeeroxDuo, TrowaxQuatre)
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMERS: (The point? Find your favorite and fill in the blank...)

  
  


WARNINGS: shonen-ai, mild language

  
  


PRE-FICCIE RAMBLINGS: none at the moment...so _Happy Reading!_

  
  


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**Complications of a Simple Mission:**

  
  


PART I: A Simple Mission__

  
  
  
  


_"The mission is simple enough: infiltrate, destroy the new weapons, blow the place up. Any questions?"_

A shake of the head.

_"Good. Pass the message onto the others."_

"Mission accepted."

_"Good luck, Heero."_ and with that, Doctor J cut off transmission.

  
  


****************

The mission had gone wrong, _REALLY_ wrong! Somehow, OZ had found out about their plans and laid a trap for them.

  
  


"Shit!" Duo hissed when he felt a bullet pierce his upper right arm. Mind you, it wasn't so much the fact that he's shot that caused the _shinigami_ to curse, but the fact that the bullet hole in his suit now made him unable to help Heero.

"Duo, are you alright?" Heero's voice came through the com, while firing at the last few remaining soldiers.

"I'm shot, Heero." 

Heero tossed the empty gun aside and floated towards Duo. "Stay here then, I won't be long. Watch my back, ne?"

"But Hee-- "

"I'll be fine, but I can risk getting you in with a leak." Heero said seriously, cobalt blue eyes boring into violet ones, "Just in case something happens though, .... detonate the bombs if I don't come back in 10 minutes, got it?"

"You know I can't-- "

"GOT IT?" Heero repeated with a more authoritative tone of voice.

"Got it...." Duo repeated reluctantly.

Heero gave a slight nod, got up, and disappeared behind the automatic doors of the lab.

  
  


Seven minutes had passed and the eighth is approaching, but still no sign of Heero.

_/Goddammit! What's taking him so long?/_ Duo cursed inwardly, _/He should've been back by now!/_

A glance at his wristwatch showed that it's been nine minutes since those heavy steel doors slid closed behind Heero. _/If he doesn't come out right now, I'm gonna-- /_ Duo's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the steel doors sliding open and Heero stumbling through the doorway. "Heero! What took you so long?!" Duo demanded.

"Explain later. Right now, contact the others so we can blow this place up..." 

"Tch.. Well let's get outta here first, then." With that, Duo headed towards a second set of steel doors that lead out of the lab. Heero nodded and followed, only a step behind Duo. 

  
  


********************************

As they wove their way out of the maze of corridors and the patrol pattern of the guards, Quatre and Trowa managed to never let go of the other's hand, but Quatre always had a hand hovering near the comlink in his ear, in case Heero changed orders... in case something happens to Heero and or Duo.... 

Sensing his angel's distress, Trowa tightens his hand over Quatre's to provide some comfort. "What's wrong?" Trowa asks while turning suddenly into a hall way to avoid the passing guards, never missing a beat.

Quatre waited for the soldiers to pass before answering, "I've got a bad feeling about this mission." By the time Quatre finished his sentence, they can already see the door that will lead them to where Wufei is hiding in the forest.

"Why? The mission was a success..."

"For us, yes... But I'm worried about Heero and Duo, something just doesn't _feel_ right."

Quatre reflexively turned his head to a side as he stepped into the blinding sunlight suddenly, only moving where Trowa lead him.

"You worry too much, koibito. See? We left the lab in one piece, 'Mission Complete'."

  
  


*******************

"What took you guys so long?!" I demanded the couple once they are within hearing range.

"Why, _hello_ Wufei. _Glad to see you're okay_." was the HeavyArms pilot's greeting. No, I didn't miss the sarcasm...

I noticed Trowa wincing slightly, and caught sight of Quatre's hand falling away from the European's arm.

...apparently, Quatre didn't miss the sarcasm either. I smirked inwardly, no need to waste energy to make Trowa's life miserable,... Quatre'll do a good job with his long lectures...

Quatre interrupts my internal musings, "Did Heero or Duo contact you recently?"

"Only once," I replied, "about 5 minutes ago."

"What did they say?"

"To blow the place up in 10 minutes, whether or not they're with us..." I also didn't miss Quatre's uncomfortable look,...too bad that couldn't be helped.

By the 7 minute mark, Quatre was pacing. A minute earlier, he had already made Trowa climg up a tree with binoculars to look for signs of them. What did I do? The only thing I can: I sat and waited... too bad that couldn't be helped either.

Suddenly, the bleeping noise that marked the end of the torturous wait sounded. My eye's flew open at the sound, Quatre whirled around to look at me with wide eyes. Both of us turned to look at Trowa, hoping that maybe he caught sight of them leaving the building. Trowa jumped down from the tree he perched on, landing gracefully in front of us, and shook his head solemnly. There was nothing else to do, the mission must be completed.

My thumb pressed down on the detonation device.

Funny how my eyes started to sting at the same time the explosion sounded....

  
  


TBC...

  
  


POST-FICCIE RAMBLINGS: Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! This is supposed to be a one-shot ficcie!! Why did it end up as another series??? ...now i have three series to complete o_o;;;...

::runs off to start a one-shot ficcie:: I WILL WRITE A ONE-SHOT FIC! _!!

In the mean time... please please please please PLEASE send me feedbacks!


	2. Chapter 02: The Awakening

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN ANY, and I mean *ANY*, part of GW (;_;). I doubt these situations ever really happened, but this is MY fic, so ~nyeh~ . ~Ahem~ This is dedicated to Swallow-chan for bugging me to write... though I never got that "letter of encouragement" she promised -_-... See how nice I am?? Anyways, there's no YAOI in THIS part (but there WILL BE IN LATER PARTS! D) That's about it for now! HAPPY READING! ^^

p.s.: SEND ME FEEDBACKS! ::begs on hands and knees::****

  
  
  
  


**Complications of a Simple Mission**

  
  


PART II: The Awakening

  
  
  
  


"Heero, what's wrong with you?" Duo asked, worried. Heero hadn't said a single word to him after the command to contact the others, not that that was anything new, the disturbing thing was Heero's posture: his shoulders slightly haunch-over, looking like he wants to curl up into a protective, fetal position. 

"Just keep walking Duo," Heero said in a somewhat _weak_ voice? "We don't have much time before this place blows..." Heero continued, never slowing their pace. That is, until now: all of a sudden, Heero's step faltered, causing him to stumble like a man intoxicated, but the problem was, Heero doesn't drink before missions, Heero doesn't drink period.

"Heero!" Duo cried out, forgetting their need to be quiet, and quickly moved to steady the Wing pilot by wrapping an arm around his waist. That was when he noticed Heero's labored breathing, and the frown that was already marring his boyish features deepened even more because not only did Heero not drink, he also never gets out of breath. _Something's way wrong..._ Tightening his grip on the other boy, Duo quickened their pace and Heero followed, as best as he could at least.

_Finally_ was all Heero could think about when they saw the light pouring through the exit from the outside world,_ just a few more steps and we'll make it...._ But as they neared the exit, several explosions sounded simultaneously throughout the building, the force of it throwing them off their feet. Through all the commotion though, Duo managed to keep a loose hold on Heero's waist. Hoisting Heero to his feet, Duo tried to make a run for the exit.

  
  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Quatre paced the halls of the hospital restlessly.

"Koi, sit down..." Trowa repeated for the umpteenth time in the last hour. "They'll be fine."

"You think so?" Quatre asked (also for the umpteenth time in the last hour), turning large worried eyes on his boyfriend. Trowa sighed, wishing for the doctors to hurry up with the check up before the waiting drives Quatre insane, which will in turn drive himself insane.

"I'm sure of it, koi." and with that, Trowa kissed Quatre's forehead reassuringly as he reflected on what exactly had happened in the last 2 hours... 

The three pilots had hoped, against all odds, that Duo and Heero wasn't in the building when they detonated the bombs inside the building. So they decided to scout the area after the fire died out some. The good news was that they found the two missing pilots, the bad news was that they had been inside the building when the place blew up...

  
  


_[2 hours ago]_

_"Heero! Duo!" Quatre called again. They've been wandering around this damn lot of ruins for a good half hour already and still no sign of their missing friends. Quatre looked around again, aside from the voices of Trowa and Wufei echoing the same names with him, there were no human-made sound anywhere. 'Are we too late?' Quatre thought in despair. "Hee-!" He was going to called again, but the sob that tore from his throat choked his voice. Tears ran freely down his face._

_"Quatre, please stop crying," Quatre recognized his Trowa's voice immediately and flung his arms around the Heavyarms pilot's neck, sobbing uncontrollably._

_"Shhh..." Trowa tried to calm the shaking Arabian in his arms. "We'll find them...shh..."_

_As if some kind spirit heard him and decided to help him keep his promise, Wufei all of a sudden shouted "I SEE THEM!" at the top of his lungs. _

_Those three blessed words immediately jerked Quatre out of his grief and he scrambled out of his love's embrace, rushing towards Wufei, Trowa hurrying behind him._

_Maybe that wasn't a kind spirit after all, because when they finally reached Wufei, the sight of Heero and Duo made them stop dead in their tracks: Heero slumped over Duo, in a position that suggested to them that Heero tried to shield Duo with his body, taking the blunt of the blast, both bodies covered with countless wounds, many of which were still generously pouring out blood. What happened afterwards was a blur as they frantically got their two injured friends to a nearby hospital. Duo had regained some form of consciousness for a few minutes, mumbling about 'Heero' and 'pain,' and then promptly passed out. Heero, on the other hand, had remained still... unnaturally and *deadly* still._

  
  


"Are you gentlemen with Duo Maxwell and Heero Yui?" a voice questioned, bringing Trowa out of his reverie.

"Yes, we are." Quatre replied quickly, then tried to clear his throat of the coarseness in his voice. "How are they? Are they alright?"

"Duo Maxwell is fine, we've removed the bullet from his arm and cleaned up his cuts, he's suffering a minor concussion, but he'll be fine with plenty of rest." the owner of the voice spoke again. Trowa assumed she was the doctor.

"How about Heero Yui?" Trowa asked.

"Mr. Yui..., well..." the doctor stammered, Trowa and Quatre frowned. "He'll be put in the ICU for about a week for observation."

"Why? What's wrong?" Quatre asked frantically.

"His injuries are more severe than Mr. Maxwell's. We found internal bleeding in several places, went in and fixed them, but...his blood pressure is still dropping and we can't find where there may be possible ruptures. There's nothing we can do until the x-rays we ordered come in." the doctor finished.

Trowa decided that he likes this lady, who has the sense to speak to them in terms that they would understand. "Can we seem them?"

"Mr. Maxwell, yes. Mr. Yui..." she trailed off.

"We understand. Can we just visit Duo right now?" Trowa squeezed Quatre's hand reassuringly.

"He's in room 304. I'll have to be going now. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask me, Mr...er.." the doctor blushed.

"Just call me Trowa," Trowa said, offering his hand.

"Veronica Assiel," the doctor smiled, shaking the offered hand.

Quatre felt a nudge on his arm that brought him out of his reverie enough to remember his manners. "Erm.. I'm Quatre!" the blonde Arabian added quickly, and as an after thought, shook the doctor's hand.

Dr. Assiel smiled in understanding, "You guys better go on ahead now before visiting hours are over." And with a polite nod of her head, she made her way past the two pilots.

  
  


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_'Eh? Where the hell am I?_' Duo wondered groggily as his world came into focus. A groan of pain leaked past his lips when he tried to move his head to look around. _'Oh, yeah... explosion, duh...'_ Even in this painful state, he still didn't forget to be sarcastic. He throat felt dry, and when he tried to talk... _'damn... I sound like sandpapers rubbing against each other.'_ Slowly but painfully, he was able to turn his head to a side. And coincidentally, it happened to be the side where the sofa was, atop of which was Trowa and Quatre, snuggled up to each other in restless sleep. Duo felt a soft smile tug on his lips, _'those two are so sweet.'_ Deciding not to disturb the two lovebirds, Duo turned to other side of the bed, expecting to see a Heero of some sort.

He blinked once, twice. _'Where's Heero?!'_ his mind finally screamed out when the realization that Heero isn't in the same room finally settled. Immediately, he tried to sit up, but the sudden movement made the room swirl and he flopped back onto the bed, the creak of the old bed springs as well as Duo's groan of pain and frustration finally woke up the two lovebirds.

"Duo!" both exclaimed simultaneously.

"How do you feel?"

"Are you alright?" came the two voices again, all at once. The clash of words, in addition to the sheer volume of the frantic voices, was enough to give Duo a headache.

"Turn down the volume, will ya?" Duo 

"Eh... sorry Duo," Quatre said, softening his tone to something that's closer to a loud whisper.

"How do you feel?" Trowa asked again, but this time following his koi's example of lowering his voice.

"Like shit," came the simple reply. Quatre couldn't help but giggle at that, even Trowa smiled. At that moment, Wufei barged into the room, slamming the door open in his rush to get in.

_'Dammit! These people have no consideration for the injured _!'_

"Wufei!" Quatre exclaimed, forgetting to keep his voice down in his worry. Duo winced, but it went unnoticed by his three fellow pilots... 

_'Wait a sec, three...? Where's Heero?'_ came the thought again. He was about to voice his question when Trowa cut in.

"Weren't you supposed to stay with Heero until he woke up?"

"Is something wrong with Heero?" Quatre's tone of voice was laced with worry.

"Heero?" Duo gasped. The perfect soldier was hurt? Was hurt so bad that he couldn't fix it himself? A knot formed in his stomach when he saw the worried expressions of his friends.

"Duo! You're awake!"

"What's wrong with Heero?!" Quatre and Duo demanded at the same time. Quatre stared at Duo in surprise. Duo didn't seem to notice the stare, but he did somewhat regret shouting like that, because now his head felt like it was being pounded from the insides of his skull. He pushed the pain aside when Wufei began to speak.

"Heero was awake..." Wufei said reluctantly, glancing in Duo's direction.

The 'was' did not go unnoticed by Trowa, and luckily the hint to keep the situation from Duo didn't go unnoticed either. "Wufei, let's talk outside," Trowa said, heading for the door.

Unluckily for the both of them though, Duo also didn't miss the 'was' and the hint. "I'm not stupid, y'know," Duo hissed. "What's wrong with Heero?!"

Wufei looked uncomfortable, and that just made Quatre feel worst because Wufei NEVER felt uncomfortable, or at least Wufei never felt uncomfortable enough to not be able to hide it. "Wufei?" Quatre asked, frowning.

Wufei and Trowa looked at each other for a moment, then, almost reluctantly, Trowa gave a slight nod to Wufei. Wufei nodded back and cleared his throat. "Heero... like I said, *did* wake up."

"AND??" Duo was getting impatient, but it couldn't helped, especially when that feeling of dread gnawed at his stomach.

Wufei took a deep, shuddering breath,... and told them...

  
  


_[flashback]_

_Wufei, finally tired of pacing around the room in the ICU, sat down in the chair beside the bed and continued to worry about its occupant._

_"Heero, you need to pull through this," Wufei whispered. Maybe it was because of how pale and vulnerable and weak the Japanese looked, or maybe the numerous tubes and wires connected to him, or it could've even been the beeps of the medical instruments scattered generously about the room that unnerved him, but no matter the reasons, Wufei was scared... and he was scared of that feeling._

_He was waiting for something to happen, *anything* to happen, wished for it so much that he started to imagine them. He first thought he heard Heero groan, but it was really his restlessness that cause the chair he sat on to groan. He then thought he saw the gentle rise and fall of Heero's chest stilled, but when he looked closely he saw that the Japanese was still breathing. Finally, he thought he saw Heero's eyelids flutter, and when he looked again Heero's eyelids *were* fluttering! _

_"Heero! Heero can you hear me??"_

_Heero's eyes finally stopped fluttering... and opened. "Wufei?" The name came out as a coarse, dry whisper. But before Wufei can say anything, Heero started coughing, body racking coughs. Wufei's eye's widened in fear, and then, some common sense managed to slip into his mind. _

_He dashed to the door calling for help, and when he was sure someone was coming he rushed back to Heero's side, only to find him unconscious again. The only difference was... there was blood, a lot of blood...._

  
  


**TBC**


	3. Chapter 03: The Herald of the Beginning

PRE-FIC RAMBLINGS: Sorry for the wait! I'll get going with the story! (my msg will be on the "post-fic ramblings") HAPPY READING!

WAIT! I'm dedicating this to Swallow-chan, who had so effectively kicked my ass into gear. -__-;; (I would've gotten this done sooner, but I had a few drawings I needed to finish... gomen ne!)

NOTE: Thoughts will be expressed like _'so.'_

****

Complications of a Simple Mission 

Part III: The Herald of the Beginning

"I'm sorry, but you can't go in right now," the nurse said with an understanding smile.

"What do you mean we can't go in?? Did something happened to the patient?" Duo asked frantically.

Wufei had been asked to leave Heero's room when the doctor saw the Japanese's condition, so he took the chance to go tell the others about what happened. Duo's responses were a bit unfitting for his condition, but was somewhat expected. What was surprising was Duo's determination in insisting that he go see Heero immediately.

"Mr. Yuy is okay. You don't have to worry, Mr. Maxwell," Dr. Assiel interjected. "Go on ahead with your duties, Junko-san, I'll take care of these gentlemen here."

Nurse Junko left with a nod of her head, leaving Dr. Assiel with the four Gundam pilots.

"Dr. Assiel, how is our friend?" Quatre asked.

"Don't worry about him," she smiled reassuringly, "he's alright. I understand that he was coughing before he lost consciousness... the blood was from that."

"Yes we know that, but why?" Duo asked in that same frantic tone.

"His throat was already parched dry from the fire, plus he hasn't had any kind of liquid down his throat. Considering that a person's cough sends a strong gust of breath out of the lungs at high speed, what do you think several consecutive coughs will do to his throat?" the doctor finished with a friendly smile.

Trowa mirrored her smile ((::gasps:: Trowa? smile? rare!... hey.. must be a streak for me when writing about Trowa...)), "We understand now."

"Speak for yourself!" Duo snapped. His mind is already usually slow at this type of 'guess-the-rest-of-the-sentence' games, and in his half-drugged and fully concussed state, it's even worst.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

With the combined efforts of four pilots and one doctor, they managed to convince Duo that Heero really *is* okay, and that he should return to his own room to rest.

"Duo, go to sleep!" Quatre repeated again.

"Demo--"

"We can't visit Heero right now anyways!" Trowa interjected.

"..."

"We'll all go see Heero tomorrow morning," Wufei reassured.

Finally, Duo fell asleep, and the rest of them could finally rest.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey! Hee~ro~~~! You ready yet?" Duo hollered across the hallway (lengthwise -__-;;..).

The two injured pilots had recovered at a surprising rate, Duo had left the hospital three days after he had awakened and Heero about a week after Duo's discharge. The doctors, though reluctant to let Heero go, found no excuse to keep him... not like Heero would allow himself to be persuaded either.

"Hee---!" Duo called out again, but was cut off when he felt Heero's death glare all the way from across the hall.

"..."

"^^;;; erm... ready to go yet?"

Heero sent another shriveling glare towards Duo before brushing past the bubbly pilot.

_'Eep!'_ thought Duo as he followed Heero out the door, suddenly thinking that the outing they...or more like he... planned wasn't such a good idea after all. _'Think positive Duo, the outing is a good idea!'_ And Duo repeated that sentence to himself like a mantra and had even began to believe it, that is until he heard Quatre's greeting towards the Japanese pilot had somehow ended abruptly unfinished, followed by uncomfortable silence. _'...Maybe not...'_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Quatre sweatdropped at the ridiculous sight in front of him. Trowa looked amused. Wufei was the epitome of impatience. And Heero... Heero was just Heero. Quatre briefly wondered how Duo had managed to control a Gundam when he couldn't even mount a horse.

The four mounted Gundam pilots waited 'patiently' for the Shinigami to mount:

"Duo.. have you ever rode a horse before?" Quatre asked, sweatdropping all the while.

"Or maybe we should ask if you've ever been near a horse before?" Trowa added nonchalantly.

"Why'd you suggest horseback riding when you can't even mount one?" Wufei demanded, not even bothering to conceal his annoyed tone.

"..." was Heero's input.

"Thanks for the help, guys! I *really* appreciate it!" Duo snapped back, voice dripping with sarcasm. He never thought horseback riding would be this hard. Though reluctant to admit it even to himself, this really is his first time trying to ride a horse. The pilot of Deathscythe would have never suggested horseback riding if there were anything else that's 'fun' to do on this God forsaken colony! 

"Come on!" Duo hissed under his breath, struggling to mount the poor horse. "Hold still!"

Having seen enough of Duo's clumsiness for one day, Heero dismounted from his black steed to help Duo.

"That's not how you do it," came the Japanese boy's slightly nasal voice. 

"Oh *really*!" Duo retorted with a roll of his eyes.

Ignoring the long-haired pilot's tone, Heero continued, "Here, let me have the reigns." 

Duo surrendered the reigns.

"Hold on to the saddle," Heero paused to let Duo complete the action. "Place your left foot into the stirrup, use that footing as leverage and pull yourself up, now swing your right leg over the saddle, sit, and place your right foot into the stirrup as well." 

When Heero was sure Duo was settled in the saddle and the stirrups are shortened to the right length for him, he handed the reigns back to Duo and remounted his own horse. In that short amount of time, Duo's horse started to move a little on its own accord, causing Duo to release a nervous sound. Hearing that, Quatre came to the rescue of the American pilot.

"It's alright, Duo, don't have to be scared." Quatre said in a reassuring voice.

"Scared? Who's scared? Not me!" Duo squeaked out, but was too nervous to notice it.

Quatre chuckled good-naturedly, "Of course not. Maybe I should *remind* you how to use the reigns?"

"S-sure!" Duo stammered, the horse was showing signs of wanting to wander again.

"Pull the reigns to the right, if you want the horse to turn right, pull to the left if you want to move left, and pull back if you want it to stop, but not too hard or else the horse will turn around. Last but not least, dig your heels into the horse's sides if you want it to move: harder you dig; faster it goes. Got that?"

Duo nodded, but Quatre noticed his tension from how tight his gripped the reigns. 

"I'll go slow to be near you, don't worry."

"Ready to go yet? Heero and Wufei already went ahead of us!" Trowa warned.

The scenery was quite beautiful. Though the colony was practically void of any activities that can be remotely labeled as fun, the rolling landscapes provided enough pleasantries. Whoever designed the artificial landscaping of this colony must have been an artist of some sort, and one that really studied the natural beauties of Earth. Mountains were scattered about the horizon with calculated randomness. Gurgling streams and vast grasslands, though an almost perfect imitation of Earth, was place strategically so unprepared 'travelers' would be relatively well taken care of by 'nature.'

The pilots have been riding for almost an hour now, enjoying the scenery, and basically having a great time. Even Duo had relaxed enough to return to his usual chatterbox self, once he's got the hang of controlling his horse. Once in awhile, laughter interrupted the pleasant conversation that struck up amongst the pilots, with the exception of Heero.

No one seemed to notice that Heero, who started off with the best riding posture of them all, suddenly seemed to be slouched over. Riding a little ahead of the rest of group, no one noticed the labored breathing, the beads of perspiration that rolled down his pained complexion, and the hand that gripped the front of his green tank top. Consequently, no one noticed how Heero's eyes became unfocused, and how his hand grew lax around the reigns as his eyes slid closed. No one noticed a thing until Heero slid off his horse, landing on the ground with a sickening thump.

"HEERO!"

****

TBC

POST-FIC RAMBLINGS: Mwahahahahahah! ).. sooooo Swallow-chan, how'd you like the ending? First Heero was bleeding for months (cuz it took me that long to get this part out) and now he fell off a horse! Awww.. my poor Hee-chan... ::sniffles:: D

Aaaaaanyways.. i gotta go now... it's 3:23 a.m. right now and my grandma just ordered me to go to bed so.. 

Ja ne!

~Kris

p.s.: Ne, Swallow-chan! you want the next part? E-mail Jpophelp about my mags! _!! (I want my Gaku-chan! ::bawls::) ::hugz::


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